I want to review another CD today.

Sometimes, when you see him today, you forget he was once a powerful legend of hip-hop. This CD is a reminder.

LL Cool J's Mama Said Knock You Out, released in 1990, shows the star at the peak of his powers. Of course, these days, he's shilling in Pepsi Super Bowl ads and generally relying on his charm, charisma, and good looks rather than producing anything worth listening to and that's a shame, because LL is one of the most gifted MCs in the history of hip-hop.

This is also a good disk to listen to when you want to reflect on the changes to commercial hip-hop over the last fifteen or twenty years. Today, no MC is expected to carry an entire song, never mind a full-length CD, without ample help from guest performers, singers, perhaps a crew. This disk is almost entirely performed by LL, with a notable exception on Farmer's Blvd. (Our Anthem), where he explains he's bringing back friends who haven't enjoyed the same success as he. Nowadays, a major hip-hop release would also bring a veritable cadre of producers--one or more for each track--where this disk is entirely produced under the auspices of Marley Marl.

While the manner in which this disk was created is very different from today's modus operandi, it's still fresh-sounding. Yes, the slang is dated (shoot, even the luxury brands in the name-checks sound ancient... who knew champagne brands had such short lives as hip-hop icons back then?) and the sound is, well, simple by today's baroque standards, but this is the best disk from a seriously talented star. Marley Marl's beats cruise along like a big luxury car, bearing fabulous narratives and LL's familiar blend of winking nods and sheer confidence. Today's hip-hop word nerds, looking for the most clever of rhyme schemes will be disappointed, but nearly all of the rhymes are carefully constructed tales that don't spend a lot of capital on switching performers and topics like some disorganized cocktail party where you might stroll past different speakers holding forth on random topics.

The disk has a classic that stands the test of time in the title track as well as a clunker or two (Cheesy Rat Blues is pretty inexcusable) and yes, LL has always had a problem with coasting on his likability rather than bearing down on a verse. But even his hostility expressed on old-fashioned battle raps sounds like fun rather than anything to be afraid of. Yes, this may be rapping a mom could love, but you can still enjoy it.

9 out of 10

CDs listened to today:

• Konono No. 1: Congotronics
• Consolidated: Dysfunctional
• The Cure: Never Enough
• Bill Watrous: Manhattan Wildlife Refuge
• Juraj Filas: Sonata For Trombone and Piano (At the end of the century)
• Bill Watrous: The Tiger Of San Pedro
• Alfred Schnittke: Symphony No. 8
• Ludwig van Beethoven: The Piano Trios, disk 5
• Bahia Black: Ritual Beating System
• Bill Frisell Quartet: (eponymous)